National Grid invests $1.75 billion in Joulent to power a Microsoft AI data center in Texas

National Grid Ventures, the commercial arm of UK utility National Grid, has invested $1.75 billion for a 35 percent stake in US power developer Joulent. The money funds a gas-fired plant built to supply a Microsoft AI data center in West Texas. The utility announced the investment on July 1, 2026.

The deal is a direct answer to the power bottleneck slowing AI data-center growth. Rather than wait on a strained grid, the developers are building generation dedicated to a single computing campus. The money funds Joulent’s first project, Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt gas-fired facility in West Texas built in a 50/50 partnership with Chevron, supplying electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The project has secured GE Vernova turbines and reserved engineering-and-construction capacity, targeting first power delivery by 2028. The investment represents “a disciplined, partner-led investment in contracted critical infrastructure for the AI-driven large load economy,” National Grid’s Zoe Yujnovich said.

The structure shows utilities and oil majors positioning to profit from AI’s electricity demand, and it leans on natural gas rather than renewables or nuclear to meet a near-term load. For National Grid, the stake is incremental to an existing five-year capital program of roughly 70 billion pounds ($90 billion) through 2031.

Gas-fired plants face permitting, emissions and turbine-supply constraints, and a 2028 first-power target leaves room to slip. Whether Project Kilby delivers on schedule – and whether more of these dedicated-generation deals follow – is what to watch.